Darius Hannah: The Embodiment of Progress
Hannah broke out his senior season and gave us 2 years of well-rounded basketball in an underrated Missouri Valley Conference. Does this hold enough weight for him to catch the eyes of scouts?
In a Division-I college basketball landscape that includes over 364 teams, many talented players fly under the radar, especially those who play for mid-major teams that lack much of a spotlight. One of the most notable embodiments of this phenomenon is Darius Hannah, Bradley University's star forward who ought to have more respect put on his name. The progression he has shown from his freshman year to his 5th year has been monumental, to say the least. Having never averaged more than 6 PPG throughout his first 3 years of college, he made a huge leap his senior session by upping his scoring to 11.5 PPG. He would then return to Bradley for a fifth year and not only averaged a career-high 12.4 PPG, but also added a 3-pointer to his repertoire and earned 2nd-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors. He was also Bradley’s leading scorer in their MVC Championship loss to Drake, scoring 19 points in his final collegiate game. Let’s break down what Darius Hannah has shown off as he has become one of the better mid-major players in the country.
Basic Stats (2024-2025): 29.0 MPG, 12.4 PPG, 1.4 APG, 5.9 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 1.6 T/O, 58.4% FG%
Pros:
Prolific scorer at the rim and in the paint
Converts on 78% of his shots at the rim, placing him in the 92nd percentile, and converts on 56.8% of his attempts in the paint, putting him in the 89th percentile.
Creates and finishes through contact very well, both when he gets hit at his chest or on his arms, and has a soft touch from everywhere in the paint; also proficient at finishing with both of his hands.
Displays smart footwork in the post and uses it to create space and draw fouls
One of his favorite moves out of the post is where he quickly spins off his defender towards the baseline side and takes it along the baseline to finish at the cup, or takes a short teardrop that he converts well.
Angles his body to sell to the defender that he is going to take it into the middle of the paint and creates contact, so that he can leverage both his weight and his defender’s weight into creating so much separation when he spins.
Also loves to drop step and then pump fake, which he sells really well and has gotten defenders to fall for pretty often throughout the year; this has earned him 3.6 personal fouls drawn per game, which places him in the 91st percentile.
Stretches the floor
His 3Pt% of 35.6% is in the 74th percentile, which is notably high for a big man who is most comfortable scoring down low.
He’s not typically going to create a shot for himself beyond the arc, as 59 of his 63 3PA’s were off the catch-and-shoot, but this should not tank his reputation as a shooter since he should only ever need to shoot spot up as a stretch 4.
Very efficient across a multitude of play types on offense
Has a points per possession rating in the 75th percentile or higher across 5 play types on synergy (Post-Up, Spot-Up, Cut, Pick-and-Roll Man, and Transition).
Shows off good instincts on how his team’s offense runs and gets to where he needs to be on the floor to score, which has contributed to his high ratings when he cuts and when his team is in transition.
Seals off his defenders nicely
Has a great feel for his hips and has a visibly long wingspan, both of which he uses to create plenty of room for his guards to deliver an entry pass to him; also gets physical if a defender is bumping him to try to prevent him from getting open down low.
Active feet and good lateral movement on defense
Can keep up with quick, smaller players when left guarding them and stays in front of opposing big men when they try to spin or use footwork of their own to try to get around him.
Cons:
Very undersized for his height
The majority of NBA players who measure at or around 6’9” will typically weigh in at about 20-45 pounds heavier than him. I’m not sure how his presence down low, on either end of the floor, will be effective in the NBA when he is trying to get physical against opponents who are that much bigger than he is.
Not quite battle-tested and hasn’t faced much other NBA-level talent
Having spent 5 years with Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference, he hasn’t faced the most difficult strength of schedule or gotten the chance to compare his skills against other players who will make it to the next level. I don’t believe that this should discount his success or the positives attributed to him as a player, but proving oneself as a star in a mid-major is not the same as proving oneself against Power 5 teams with NBA-ready talent.
Suffers from tunnel vision from time to time, which has led to turnovers and hurt his assist abilities
When he gets the ball in the post or tries to take a 1-on-1 matchup inside the arc, he often becomes too scoring-oriented and misses wide open teammates who have open passing lanes (1.4 AST/G vs. 1.6 T/O’s/G).
In addition to missing the open man, he also makes it easy for secondary defenders to either bring a double team or just straight-up come in and swipe the ball away.
Lacks speed and physicality when he drives
Can get worked by big defenders when he tries to dribble by them from beyond the arc, and he isn’t fast enough to blow by them either. He’ll need to work on taking advantage of his size by driving his shoulder into the defender (without fouling) while he drives so that he can efficiently get to the cup without being cut off and being forced to take a lower quality pull up instead.
Final Take: Hannah has proven himself as a superb interior scorer who uses both finesse and physicality to finish at the rim, and he has added a 3-Pt jumper to his game to make him a threat on multiple levels. What primarily concerns me with him is how he lacks the appropriate size for his playing style to directly translate to the NBA, given how light he is, and this can negatively affect his game on both ends of the floor if he cannot put on significantly much more weight.
Draft Projection: Late 2nd Round to Undrafted
Player Comp: Chris Boucher: Tall, lanky player who likes to score inside but can also shoot 3s, and he can hold his own on defense.